$425 million sunk into virtual worlds

Virtual world-related companies received $425 million in funding during the fourth quarter, Virtual Worlds Management said Thursday.

That included $12 million that San Jose’s Gaia, an anime-inspired virtual world that’s popular with teens, raised from Sony and Time Warner, among others.

Sausalito’s Millions of Us, which develops advertising campaigns and communities inside virtual worlds, also received an undisclosed amount of money.

But Virtual Worlds Management’s report, released quarterly, has been criticized in the past because it includes funding to companies that might not be defined as virtual world companies. XL Games, for instance, which received an undisclosed amount, is developing a massively multiplayer online game, or MMOG.

One interesting item to note: Who would have thought that Pat Sajak, the longtime host of Wheel of Fortune, would have an interest in the virtual worlds industry? He invested an undisclosed amount in Numedeon, creator of Whyville, an online world for tweens and teens. Next up: Vanna White in Second Life?